Merry Melodies
by bsloths
Summary: iPod Tag Challenge. Drabbles based on ten different songs.


Shellie (sort of) tagged me for this, so in the immortal words of Kel Mitchell…_aw, here goes_!

**Here's the deal. If you get tagged, you have to write a short fic about ten random songs. Put your IPOD or library on shuffle, and get ready to write to whatever song comes up. Sounds pretty easy, but here's the thing; you only have until the end of the song to finish the drabble, and then it's onto the next one.**

I am horrible at writing under pressure, and I swear I followed the directions. So excuse the shortness and lameness of these. (They are unedited, though if a song ended and I was in the middle of a sentence, I finished the sentence!)

**I tag: **

**Catdogg**

**pheobe p.**

**arbitraryink **

**Kinvalar **

**Mac-alicious **

(Sorry if any of you have been tagged already!)

Disclaimer: Nein.

_**1. You Don't See Me – Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack**_

I don't understand why she doesn't notice me. I mean, I know I'm really quiet, but we've been in the same classes for years. I even got close to Casey to try to find a way to break the ice with Emily. I thought maybe we could all go out together and hang out, and that way, I could really get a conversation started. I could never just walk up to her in the hallway.

I know we don't have a lot in common. But she's so pretty, and nice, and friendly. She has a great smile. I just know she'll be able to look past my punk exterior and see the person I really am—she's just that cool a girl. She just doesn't see me, the way I wish she would.

Instead _Casey_ gets the crush on me. And she's nice enough, but she's definitely no Emily. I wish I were more confident. Someday I'll get her to notice me.

_**2. Come So Far (Got So Far to Go) – Hairspray soundtrack**_

They still fought like cats and dogs. It was the nature of their relationship; Derek and Casey just knew how to push each other's buttons. It drove the family crazy. They thought that when they started dating, the name-calling, wrestling, and arguments would stop.

But oh, no. They still went at it every chance they got. Some days they took it slow; lounging around enjoying each other's company, breaking out the pet names instead of the insults. But some nights, they took it fast; playing fast and loose with the rude nicknames. Their parents figured that it spiced up the relationship.

That it did. But they were impossible to be around when they got like that. The worst were the food fights. Of course now, they ended up making out on the floor covered in leftovers, as opposed to whining and locking themselves in their rooms afterward. George and Nora saw that as a definite improvement.

Oh, well. Come so far, got so far to go.

_**3. Spice Up Your Life – Spice Girls**_

"Sheldon, you have to," Emily pleaded. She held the jalapeno in front of his mouth and twirled it around. "Come on, you never back down from a dare."

Sheldon clamped his mouth shut and shook his head stubbornly. "I don't care if I impress your dad by eating his spicy dinner. If that's what it takes to get them to like me, then forget it!"

"You have to try! You know he prides himself on that recipe! And if your eyes tear up, he'll never let you live it down! You have to get used to it now!"

Sheldon sighed. "You better give me a pretty big reward if I do this." He opened his mouth slightly.

Emily fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Okay, deal. I promise I will make your tongue feel _much_ better _after_ you eat this."

Sheldon eagerly opened his mouth, and Emily plopped the jalapeno in. It was sooo worth it.

_**4. Independent Women, Part 1 – Destiny's Child**_

Casey was determined to have a girls' night. She invited Emily, Sally, Kendra, and unfortunately, her unpleasant cousin Victoria for a day of spa treatments, facials, and junk food binges.

Too bad Derek refused to leave the comfort of his chair.

"De-rek! This is supposed to be girls-only! Go upstairs!"

"Then what are _you_ doing here?" he said rudely.

Casey stuck her tongue out at him. "Last I checked, I was a girl. Do you need me to prove it?" She inched her shirt up higher and higher until the bottom of her bra began to show.

Derek ran screaming from the room, making a big fuss about how gross she was. The other girls giggled.

After the other girls left, Casey tiptoed into Derek's room and let him check and make sure she really was a girl. To his delight, she was.

_**5. How You Remind Me – Nickelback **_

Ralph had never had it easy. He had a lot of self-esteem issues, that mostly stemmed from everyone just assuming he was stupid. He was so thankful that Kendra could see past all that and help get him out of his depression.

She reminded him every day how happy she was to have him, and it made him feel like all the bad things anyone had ever said about him were just melting away. All that mattered was the two of them, and what they meant to each other.

She spent endless hours talking him through his problems, and on especially low days, she would shower him with so much praise he thought his heart would burst. He tried not to ask himself how he could deserve such an amazing girlfriend, because that suggested he wasn't worthy of love.

But he was, and Kendra gave it to him fully and completely. He could never justify being down on himself when they were together. She was the light in his darkness, the umbrella in his rainstorm. And he never let her forget how amazing _she_ was, either.

_**6. I'll Cover You – Rent soundtrack **_

_Live in my house, and I'll be your shelter._ She was living in his house, alright. Taking over his life, practically.

_Just pay me back, with one thousand kisses._ Sure, in his dreams. The only way she'd kiss him would be if they were in the school play together or something, which would never happen, because Derek didn't do drama, onstage or otherwise.

_Be my lover, and I'll cover you._ More like he'd cover her when she was caught in a lie, which happened so infrequently that it was pointless to even dwell on. Who wrote this stupid song, anyway.

_You be my queen, and I'll be your castle._ Casey was a drama queen all right. She did it better than anyone. But he wasn't prepared to be as stoic and unyielding as a castle. He had too much pride for that.

Derek turned off the CD. Why had he wanted to listen to her girly music anyway? It only made him depressed.

_**7. Come Together – The Beatles **_

Their family was as close as could be. Sure, it had been a bumpy road to get to that place, but the McDonald-Venturis finally felt like one family. Just in time for Casey and Derek to leave for college.

They were headed off to the big city, leaving behind their parents and siblings. It didn't matter that Lizzie was her biological sister; Casey would miss Edwin just as much. It didn't matter that Nora wasn't Derek's real mother, he would really be sad to leave her. Marti didn't want her Smerek to leave, but she clung to Casey's leg and begged her not to go as well.

There were still squabbles and arguments, of course. What family doesn't have that?

But they had finally come together, and for that everyone was grateful. Life was as chaotic as ever, but at least they were all playing on the same team.

_**8. Under African Skies – Paul Simon**_

It had been Sam's idea to honeymoon in Africa. Anna had begged for somewhere romantic, just this once. But they had plane tickets, and Sam felt weird not using them for another goodwill mission.

Anna agreed, but she would never have forgiven herself had she said yes immediately. Girl's gotta have her standards, right?

They visited a school being built in a rural village. They went on a safari. They trekked across the Serengeti and helped build an aqueduct system. It was the trip of a lifetime, and it could not have been less romantic.

The tents were filled with bugs, and it was so hot they would start sweating again just as they dried off. But if you think about it, it was the perfect honeymoon, because they got in plenty of together time. Without the distraction of television, radio, or modern conveniences, they had no choice but to talk to each other. And Sam knew their relationship was stronger for it.

_**9. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson **_

Edwin was being a wallflower again. It seemed he wasn't confident dancing unless Lizzie was his partner. They had been going to dances together since middle school; it was just dancing, nothing weird about two stepsiblings stepping out.

But of course, it led to so much more – a wedding, a baby, and now, the wedding of their little sister. Lizzie had come for a little while, but she had gone home with little Corinne, who was cranky. She had insisted Edwin stay, however.

He finally decided to just suck it up and get out there. He stole the bride and they twirled around the floor.

"Thanks for the dance, Ed," Marti said brightly, and he backed away, back towards the wall.

Unless it was one of his sisters (or in his case, his stepsister slash wife), Edwin didn't do dancing.

_**10. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus**_

"You want me to take up _line dancing_? You're crazy, McDonald!"

"Come on, Der, it'll be fun. I want us to be able to do some more fun activities as a couple."

"I can think of a few fun activities that never get old."

She threw a pillow at his head.

Yup, that had been the beginning of the end. They had slowly drifted apart. After going to different colleges, and Casey moving to New York to write, Derek lost track of her. And he hated himself for it. If only he had taken her suggestion. Maybe line dancing could have saved their relationship.

Yeah, right. He knew they were both to blame for his achy breaky heart.

Against his better judgment, Derek hopped a plane to New York. He was sick of feeling heartsick. It was time to go get his girl.


End file.
